More than 200 mourners gathered beneath the tall palm trees of Yarraville Gardens on Monday to honour the too-brief life of Arzu Baglar, killed last week when hit by a truck while cycling across a dangerous intersection nearby.

Relatives of Ms Baglar, who was a wife, mother of two and a law student, joined the gathering but declined to speak publicly, preferring to let community leaders speak for them.

Cyclists participate in a ride in memory of Melbourne woman Arzu Baglar on Monday. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Catherine Cumming, mayor of Maribyrnong, said governments of all levels ought to spend much more to make cycling safe.

"We need more spent on our bike lanes, on our road paths and on education … of cyclists and drivers," Cr Cumming said.

Advertisement

One of the participants in a ride in memory of Melbourne woman Arzu Baglar on Monday.Credit:Paul Jeffers

Janet Rice,Greens senator for Victoria, said Ms Baglar "could have been any one of us", and her death should trigger greater commitment from governments to encourage cycling.

"The death of Arzu should not be forgotten, let's make something of it, let's have a legacy of Arzu's life that we can get that investment in infrastructure that we need, so that everyone has the freedom to ride safely," Ms Rice said.

Craig Richards, chief executive of Bicycle Network, said people felt despair and great anger at the preventable death of a fellow rider.

"This is something that could be stopped and we feel that we could do more to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

Mourners gathered on Monday to honour the life of Arzu Baglar, who was killed last week in a collision with a truck.Credit:Paul Jeffers

Speeches were accompanied by the deep rumble of container trucks driving past, and in plain view of towering stacks of shipping containers on the opposite side of the intersection where Ms Baglar was hit.

Afterwards the crowd of mourners collected their bikes and rode six kilometres to Williamstown Pier to "complete" Ms Baglar's ride, under police escort.

A tribute is on the corner of Whitehall Street and Somerville Road in Yarraville, where Arzu Baglar was killed.Credit:Paul Jeffers

Ms Baglar, 36, was killed while riding to a friend's house in Williamstown about 6pm on Friday.

She was the first cyclist to die on Victoria's roads this year.

Arzu BaglarCredit:Channel Nine

Ms Baglar is survived by her husband and their two young daughters, aged six and two.

The incident on Friday night occurred as a truck was turning left into Somerville Road after travelling south down Whitehall Street, which runs along the eastern border of Yarraville Gardens and western border of the Port of Melbourne.

Whitehall Street is a busy four-lane road and designated route for heavy vehicles who use it to transport freight to and from the port.

Ms Baglar was heading from an off-road path along Whitehall Street to an on-road bike lane that begins on Somerville Road at the other side of the intersection when she was hit and killed.